Forget something?

On Tuesday I went to see Seth Godin talk about his latest book The Dip. The talk was great, I got him to sign a copy of the book, take a photo with me, and told him that I was the one who sent him this picture of a remarkably un-remarkable shoe store.

At the start of the Q&A session after his great presentation he mentioned that he would give out prizes to the people who asked the best questions. I (and apparently everyone else in the room too) were enjoying the moment so much that no one remembered about the prize. I had even walked out talking with a guy about his video company.

As we parted ways outside the venue I recalled that the prize had not been awarded. The problem is that NYC "cool etiquette" requires that I shrug the prize off as unimportant and walk away. The kid inside me required that I shake off outside approval (aka looking cool) and go back and find out about the prize. We all know what I did...

I went back and got the prize! The Purple Cow Award given to those Transforming Business by Being Remarkable

(btw, I did ask a really good question about what strategies he'd use to engage the world-view of people who want their kids to go after their interests, not just do things to get into college.)

I get the prize, heartily shake Seth's hand, and once again leave the venue. After walking a full block I check my phone for messages, and also to see the photo with Seth, but I couldn't find it! I tried three times... this was not good. Had I closed the phone too quickly and the picture not saved? Could I go back and ask him to take another picture? Wasn't that going to be too weird? I could tell that he was going to remember me, but no longer in a good way if I went back.

I had overcome NYC "cool etiquette" once, but twice? I wasn't strong enough. So, I accepted that somethings were just not meant to be.

A couple of days later I uploaded the recent photos to my computer ... and lo and behold...



Some possible morals:
- Don't worry, be happy
- Be more careful
- There's a fine line between assertive and obsessed
- [insert your moral here] (or in the comment section)